Today's Tidbit: Dieters, Beware of the "What the Hell Effect"

In evolutionary times, we were far more likely to die from starvation than from diseases related to obesity. In those times, when food was available, it was best to stuff oneself. This can be seen in an experiment run by Brian Wansink. Wansink gave a bunch of subjects some soup to eat in bowls that were affixed to tables. Half the bowls were perfectly normal. The other half, however, would "slowly and imperceptibly" refill themselves. The subjects all ate soup until they either depleted the bowls, or were full. The group of subjects who ate from the self-refilling bowls ate 73% more soup... more